2021 Tax Filing Information
The initial tax filing season for 2021 is approaching and we wanted to provide some reminders to help you prepare.
Your custodian (Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Schwab, E*Trade) provides the basic tax reporting for your accounts.
TAXABLE ACCOUNTS – FORM 1099
For a taxable account, you will receive a consolidated 1099 form, which reports interest (1099-INT), dividends (1099-DIV), realized capital gains and losses (1099-B) and any miscellaneous income (1099-MISC) all in one report.
If applicable, Form 1099 will also include other expenses paid out of your taxable accounts such as custodian fees, margin interest, and foreign taxes which may also be deductible. Investment advisory fees paid to ACM will also be reported on your 1099 form.
You should provide the consolidated 1099 form for any taxable accounts (individual, joint, trust) to your tax preparer/CPA, if you are using one. If you don’t want to wait for your 1099 to come in the mail, you can log in to your account through your custodian’s website and access your 1099 online and download it at your convenience.
Click the following to log in to Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Schwab or E*Trade.
As of this commentary, your custodian may have only a “preliminary 1099” available online, which means that they have accumulated most, but perhaps not all the information needed at this time to complete your tax return.
Public companies sometimes re-characterize income after year-end, which may result in your custodian having to issue one or more “corrected” 1099 forms to account for these changes. For this reason, if you plan on filing by this year’s April 15 deadline, your tax preparer may recommend that you wait until late March to ensure that you have the complete data.
IRAs AND RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS – FORM 1099-R AND 5498
Distributions from IRAs and other retirement accounts, including Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) typically constitute ordinary income and are reported on Form 1099-R for tax purposes, which you should also provide to your tax preparer and which can be similarly accessed online, when available, by logging into your account.
If you receive Form 5498, please note that this is an information statement that is not required to be filed with your tax return. Form 5498 will report any 2021 IRA contributions and rollover amounts and, depending on the custodian, the year-end value of your IRA, the securities owned at year-end and details on your designated beneficiaries. Because taxpayers have until April 15 to make contributions to IRAs for the prior tax year, form 5498 is sometimes not posted until May, which means you may have finished your taxes before you receive this form. Again, Form 5498 is a reporting form and does not need to be filed with your tax return.
Please also note that, if you made any Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from your IRA during 2021, these are not tracked or detailed on any tax reporting forms by your custodian. It’s up to the taxpayer, or your tax preparer, to report this on your tax return (on Form 1040, you list the total amount of 2021 IRA distributions on line 4a, then subtract the total of your 2021 QCDs to calculate the Taxable amount of 2021 IRA distributions on line 4b).
FORM 1065 – SCHEDULE K-1
Investors in certain ACM investment strategies may have owned securities issued by publicly traded limited partnerships or limited liability companies. Each investor’s share of the partnership’s income, deductions and credits, are reported on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), which is issued by each respective limited partnership/limited liability company and reported separately from Form 1099.
For the 2021 tax year, this should include only ACM’s Income with Growth strategy.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE APRIL 18, 2022
Taxpayers still have until April 18, 2022 to make contributions to IRAs, SEP IRAs and Roth IRAs for 2021.
If you purchased or sold any cryptocurrencies in 2021, we’ll be posting additional information next Monday specific to the tax reporting for cryptocurrencies.
We hope that you find the above information useful in the preparation of your 2020 tax returns and, if you have questions, please reach out to your ACM Wealth Advisor.
The foregoing content reflects the opinions of Advisors Capital Management, LLC and is subject to change at any time without notice. Content provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be used or construed as investment advice or a recommendation regarding the purchase or sale of any security. There is no guarantee that the statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Indices are not available for direct investment. Any investor who attempts to mimic the performance of an index would incur fees and expenses which would reduce returns. Securities investing involves risk, including the potential for loss of principal. There is no assurance that any investment plan or strategy will be successful.
